I’m trying to figure out what to do for my next setup and am kind of confused as different people seem to say wheelbase does different things.
I currently ride a 8x31.75 with approx 14.25 wheelbase, 2-3 fingers of flat and pretty mellow kicks and concave. The wb and fingers of flat are rough measurements as I only have an old shitty rubber tape measure and my fingers are very slender. My trucks are Indy stage 9 129 and my wheels are 54mm ff tablets. I am 5’7 with proportional legs and size 7.5 feet.
The main thing I don’t like with this setup is the pop is very unexplosive and I often get ghost pop particularly on kick flips. The second thing is i get unstable and veer off severely when setting up for kick flips and tres. Both of these have a lot to do with my ability, but particularly with the pop I’ve never had any problem snapping high, floaty ollies but with this setup the pop feels so anemic and I can barely clear 2 decks even if I really fucking go for it. My style is mostly street but not very tech, I mostly do board slides, simple grinds, 180s and kick flips while cruising around Tokyo, and I also love jumping down stuff and natural tranny.
Where I’m confused is according to Ben degros, a longer wheelbase means more explosive pop. But others say that shorter wheelbase helps you get more pop and higher ollies since the angle of the board is more steep, and longer wheelbase or a deck that hits quicker is better for long ollies.
With my poor understanding of wheelbase effects besides my intuitive understanding of my skateboard as a lever, I’m thinking of going with a 8.2-8.4 deck that’s not too long, with a slightly longer wheelbase than 14.25 and steeper shape(if I can even find such a thing at my tiny local) paired with 149 indys. My thinking is I like the feel and turn of indies, so extend deck instead of going with thunder or venture, and the wider trucks will help with stability when setting up and especially with getting into grinds which I prize much more heavily than tech flip stuff. The extended wheelbase should give me snappier pop, but the more aggressive shape will give me higher ollies.
Is my logic sound or am I way off? What would you guys recommend for what I’m looking for? I don’t have many skate buddies and the ones I do have are tech junkies who skate tiny decks so I can’t really try out different shit.
I'm definitely no teacher, but I'll try.
For me, wheelbase is about "stability" vs. "finesse" in that a longer wheelbase gives you a more stable ride, yet requires more loading power (pop) to get flip tricks off. A lot of vert and tranny skaters use longer wheelbases for the stability factor and leg room (14.5"-15"). However, if you have a shorter wheelbase it becomes easier to pull of flip tricks because its less length/less power you have to work with (13.75"-14.25"). Also, personal physical attributes can influence what wb you choose (eg: if you have longer legs, choosing a deck with a smaller wheelbase may cause you to feel cramped in).
Technically, a longer wheelbase can give you more pop, because it requires you to push down on your tail harder, but it's also dependent on other factors at play. To me, it sounds like your struggling to find the proper point of leverage that works for you, and that is dependent on the trucks you pair with the deck. This is where the truck axle placement works as a fulcrum point on your board:
So, if you your using a pair of trucks that places the axle farther in towards the center of the deck whilst having a longer tail/more fingers of flat, than
the more time it'll take for the tail to hit the ground (Edit: whups, I meant to say the tail hits the ground faster, the nose teeters into the air at a lower angle) resulting in less yield of pop. If you have trucks that place the axle farther our towards the end of the nose and tail, than the fulcrum point will yield way more pop.
This sounds like the problem that you're having, so I would say if you want more pop to your ride and still want to use the same deck, than switch to trucks that place you axle out farther towards the ends of your board. It should take care of the problem. Or, if you can just switch to a deck with shorter fingers of flat and keep the same trucks. It's all about finding that "goldilocks zone".
Other factors such as wheel size and kick steepness also matter, because it alters the degree of leverage and how much time it takes for the tail to hit the ground, but for me I worry least/last about those and more about finding the right truck/deck combo that works for you. I try to base everything around the deck I choose to ride. If I get a deck with short finger space, then I know its gonna feel better with trucks that place the axle more towards the center of the board.
or just listen to the master: